The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1915. THE POPE AND THE BELLIGERENTS

New Zealand Tablet, 1 July 1915, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1915. THE POPE AND THE BELLIGERENTS

♦ —.— O those familiar with the ways of the Vatican lr* ki {II it hardly needed the official assurance of the jL Osservatore. Romano to bring home to them that the reported Papal interview with a representative of the Paris journal, La i JAherte, contained ‘various inexactitudes.’ \ Scg& lr If the Holy Father desired to make a » formal and considered pronouncement upon such matters as the British blockade or the sinking of the Lusitania, he has his own recognised and proper channels for doing so and he is not in the least likely to select as his medium the casual representative of a non-Catholic French paper. The only aspect of the incident that is really matter for surprise is the

fact for, apparently, it is a factthat, after the unpleasant experience of the Karl von Wiegand ‘interview,’ any- audience, even of the most informal and* private character, should have been granted to any newspaper representative whatever. Quite possibly the Karl von Wiegand precedent was used as a lever. In that case, Mr. Wiegand had waited patiently for six months without success; but at length, armed with an ever-increasing number of he was, like the importunate widow, finally heard on account of his much asking. Doubtless the representative of La Liberie would urge that as a pro-German journalist had been received, it was only ah act of bare justice that a similar recognition should be accorded to the other side, ,In the matter of private audiences of this kind, the Holy Father is necessarily very largely in the hands of his Secretary of State; and Cardinal Gasparri is new to the position. When he has had a little more experience of the ways and wiles of the journalistic ■world, he will take measures to protect the Holy Father against these idle and mischievous newspaper incursions. * The London Times welcomes the official repudiation of the reported terms of this interview, and the secular' press generally have been very fair and temperate in their comments on the situation. At the same time they hardly conceal the fact that they would be very glad indeed to have the influence of the Papacy upon their side in the present crisis : and to those who remember the past, their scrupulous anxiety that the Pope shall be kept to a strictly correct attitude on the subject of the war is not without its entertaining side. For in the piping times of peace, these same papers, and the Powers which they represent, either deliberately ignored or openly flouted the Pope, so far as the question of according him the slightest status or recognition in international affairs was concerned. If there is one international gathering in the world at which the Pope might fairly expect to be given an honored place, a Peace Conference is such a gathering. Yet when the Hague Peace Conferences were inaugurated in 1899, the Holy Father was flatly refused representation. In making arrangements for the Conference, the Czar sent a cordial invitation to Leo XIII. to take part, and the invitation was warmly accepted. Italy, however, declined to agree to Papal representation ; and the Papal representatives were eventually voted out. Italy led the opposition to their admission ; and two of the Powers which aided and abetted her in her short-sighted policy were Great Britain and France, The suggestion that the Pope should be present, or be represented, was scouted by the London press, the Daily News declaring that ‘ the idea of inviting the Pope, who is an entirely spiritual personage, to the Conference was novel and irrational. This attitude, moreover, is still, apparently, the recognised policy of the Powers; and so eminent an authority as Dr. E. J. Dillon declares that it is practically certain that the Pope will not be accorded recognition at the next Peace Conference, on the ground that international questions are the sole affair of the nations concerned. Not only so, but the Powers we have named have for years—until only a few months ago—studiously abstained from recognising the Pope as a factor in international affairs. For years past neither Great Britain nor France has been represented at the Vatican. At the eleventh hour of the present crisis Great Britain bestirred herself, and a few months ago sent Sir Henry Howard, who in the short time given to him has done excellent work for the Allies. France is still unrepresented. In this respect, at least, the Kaiser has shown more worldly wisdom, and a better sense of the fitness of things. In the great Labor Congress held at Berlin during the pontificate of Leo XIII., the German Emperor, though then an ally of the Italian Kingdom, did not hesitate to summon the representative of the Pope to the gathering. The Bishop of Brussels, who was nominated as the Papal representative, attended the sittings of the Congress, and by universal consent did his work very well. At the present time, the Teutons are very fully ■ and adequately represented at the Vatican. Germany as an